The Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, has assured that the forthcoming Edo governorship election will be hitch-free.

The INEC National Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu while affirming INEC’s commitment to a transparent and inclusive electoral process assured Nigerians that the commission will continue to push the boundaries of credible and inclusive elections.

Fielding questions from newsmen during the formal induction of 10 new Resident Electoral Commissioners, RECs, in Lagos, Yakubu, while reacting to the flood that affected INEC’s office in Edo State, assured Nigerians that the election would be hitch-free.

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He said, “Although we had an unfortunate flooding in our office in Edo State, over 4000 machines were affected, but we deployed our technical staff, and we have already recovered over 3500 machines.

“It seems like it’s an off-cycle election. We will call for additional support from neighboring states, so in terms of machines, rest assured that we have enough. We are going to recover from Edo, and rest assured that we won’t suffer any encumbrances at all.”

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He further urged the inducted RECs to focus and acquaint themselves more with the processes and procedures of the Commission.

The 10 RECs inductees include: Mr.Abubakar Dambo Kebbi State, Mr. Abubakar Ma’aji-Ahmed Bornu State, Dr. Anugbum Onuoha Edo State, Mr. Ehimeke Shaka-Isha Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Aminu Idris Kaduna State, Mr. Mohammed Sadiq Abubakar Kwara State, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Babalola Ondo State, Dr. Olubunmi Omoseyindemi Ekiti, Alhaji Shehu Wahab Nasarawa State, and Sir Etekamba Umoren Delta State.

The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) has announced October 5 for conduct of local government elections.

The announcement came amidst the ongoing local government succession crisis caused by the conflict between Governor Siminialayi Fubara and the Martins Amaewhule-led lawmakers.

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The Governor inaugurated caretaker committees to run the affairs of the local government areas while the ousted chairmen were still laying claims to their seats following the six-month tenure elongation granted them by the Martins Amaewhule-led lawmakers.

To avert bloody clashes, the police had since taken over all the 23 secretariats of local government areas in the state pending the forthcoming judgement of the Court of Appeal.

Details Shortly…

Edo State government and the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, weekend engaged in a heated dispute over allegations of corruption within the state government.

The APC had made allegations of widespread corruption against top officials in the government.

But the war of words escalated weekend when the APC called for a thorough investigation into the alleged corrupt practices in the state government.

However, the Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare, dismissed the APC’s claim, describing it as baseless and politically motivated.

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Addressing a press conference at the party’s secretariat in Benin, the acting State Chairman, Jarret Tenebe, said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, had already invited some top government officials and should ensure they bring the investigation to its conclusion.

According to Tenebe, the much-celebrated paperless operation in government was a ploy by Governor Godwin Obaseki to delete certain critical data from the server in case they lost the forthcoming election.

He said: “The latest plan by Obaseki to make the activities of his administration paperless is a criminal plan that has been designed by one ‘Ugo’ who is in charge of e-governance to destroy all documents relating to fraudulent contracts with the excuse that Edo government has gone paperless.

“Ugo has been allegedly instructed to delete the server containing sensitive documents when the PDP loses the election on September 21, 2024. We hereby warn the governor and the head of e-governance not to delete the approvals of contracts on e-gov.”

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He also queried the N28 billion allegedly spent on a five-star hotel by the state government; the complex, he said, was already 85 per cent completed before the state government took it over from its original owner.

Tenebe also queried the modular refinery in the state which he claimed that Obaseki said was owned by the state government but after its completion, new documents have emerged suggesting that the modular refinery is now owned by an individual.

But Nehikhare dismissed the claims as baseless and politically motivated, noting that the APC and its leadership do not know how government works.

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He said: “It is unfortunate that we still have people heading political parties without an idea of how the government is run and they believe in sensationalism.

“They cannot offer any policy statement or directions for a government they are trying to form instead they are chasing shadows, making allegations that are spurious and frivolous.

“We are not going to dignify them with our response but to tell Edo people to ask this APC leadership for their plans for the state.

“That is all we asked. We need to hear their plans, and how they plan to offer a better state than we have done here in PDP.”